God and Sinners Reconciled

Colossians 1:19–23

When we read Colossians 1, we see that Jesus, God’s Son, came to earth not just to teach us how to be better people, but to fix the broken relationship between God and us. Because we often don’t live up to God’s standards, we need a way to make things right. This is why Jesus came – to reconcile us with God.

2. The way of reconciliation

In the Old Testament, there were traditions that show us what this reconciliation looks like. People had to be clean and offer sacrifices to God. This is a lot like how we need Jesus, who is perfect, to cover our mistakes and make us right with God. A story in Mark 5 about a woman who was healed when she touched Jesus shows this idea. This tells us that when something imperfect comes into contact with something perfect, a sacrifice is needed. For us, that sacrifice is Jesus.

3. The results of reconciliation

When we are reconciled through Jesus, it changes things for us personally and for the whole universe. Personally, God starts to see us as perfect and loves us no matter what we’ve done before. On a bigger scale, God is using Jesus to fix everything, on earth and in heaven. This means a future where everything is healed and together again. This is why Christians often say, “Peace on earth, and mercy mild. Every part of reality with God reconciled.”